Topic:
Compatibility Issues

O'Reilly Network articles about this topic:

Running Commercial Linux Software on FreeBSD
(BSD DevCenter)
One intriguing feature of the BSDs is their ability to run binaries for Linux distributions. This can be very useful for running commercial software. Michael W. Lucas demonstrates how to configure and use the Linux compatibility layer on FreeBSD.

Printing for the Impatient
(BSD DevCenter)
While Unix has roots in document formatting and layout, configuring printers has always required more black-arts arcana. This hasn't been helped by the appearance of low-cost commodity WinPrinters. Fortunately, tools like Ghostscript, gimp-print, and Apsfilter make configuring printers much easier. Michael Lucas demonstrates quick and dirty -- and working -- printer configuration.

Diving into Gcc: OpenBSD and m88k
(BSD DevCenter)
Until recently OpenBSD's m88k port used an aging version of the GNU C Compiler, gcc. When an upgrade prevented the port from even compiling, the compiler had to be fixed. How do you track down errors in a compiler, where processor-specific optimizations rule and the debugger doesn't work?
Miod Vallat explains the detective work required to fix gcc for OpenBSD's m88k port.

Expanding Small NetBSD Systems
(BSD DevCenter)
Now that you have NetBSD installed on your palmtop, what will you do with it? Customizing and enhancing the installation can be tricky, but what if you had access to much more disk space? Michael Lucas explains how to enhance your palmtop experience with NFS support, so you can build and install software.

Palmtop NetBSD
(BSD DevCenter)
"Of course it runs NetBSD." NetBSD's fantastically portable, but that doesn't make it supremely easy to install on oddball hardware like a Dreamcast or a palmtop computer. Michael Lucas demonstrates cross-installation with the HP Jornada 728.

IRIX Binary Compatibility, Part 6
(BSD DevCenter)
With IRIX threads emulated, it's time to emulate share groups, a building block of parallel processing. Emmanuel Dreyfus digs deep into his bag of reverse engineering tricks to demonstrate how headers, documentation, a debugger, and a lot of luck are helping NetBSD build a binary compatibility layer for IRIX.

Emmanuel Dreyfus Interview
(BSD DevCenter)
A recent update of the NetBSD Mach and Darwin binary compatibility page left several people wondering if OS X apps now ran nearly-natively. Emmanuel Dreyfus, one of the leaders of the project, has graciously agreed to an interview. What's this binary compatibility and what does it mean?

IRIX Binary Compatibility, Part 5
(BSD DevCenter)
How do you emulate a thread model on an operating system that doesn't support native threads (in user space, anyway)? Emmanuel Dreyfus returns with the fifth article of his series on reverse engineering and kernel programming. This time, he explains thread models and demonstrates how NetBSD emulates IRIX threads.

IRIX Binary Compatibility, Part 2
(BSD DevCenter)
Emmanual Dreyfus shows us how he implemented the things necessary to start an IRIX binary. These things include the program's arguments, environment, and for dynamic binaries, the ELF auxiliary table, which is used by the dynamic linker to learn how to link the program.

IRIX Binary Compatibility, Part 1
(BSD DevCenter)
This article details the IRIX binary compatibility
implementation for the NetBSD operating system. It covers creating a new emulation subsystem inside the NetBSD kernel as well as some reverse engineering to understand and reproduce how IRIX internals work.

OpenBSD as a File Server
(BSD DevCenter)
David Jorm shows us how OpenBSD makes the perfect file server for cross-platform client networks, including Windows, Macintosh and Unix as well as for complex internetworks.

Accessing Microsoft Files Using Sharity-Light
(BSD DevCenter)
SAMBA gave us access to Unix from Windows, but how do we get access to our Windows boxes from Unix? Sharity-Lite may be the answer and Dru Lavigne explains how it works.

Mounting Other Filesystems
(BSD DevCenter)
Filesystem incompatibility can be a real pain, especially amongst Windows operating systems. Fortunately BSD has a few tools to handle the situation.